We cannot do better unless we are prepared to face our own fear!An excerpt from "The Power of Soul Loving - A Spiritual Guide to Love and Freedom" (chapter 4) It can feel particularly intense when we are confronted with a significant life change that gives us reason to re-check our values and what is important in our life. For many people, the thought of change can be frightening, challenging and unsettling. However, we have a choice as to how we approach change. We can embrace it with fear and trepidation, or we can embrace change with a sense of excitement, adventure and wonder. It’s the human condition to want to avoid what we perceive as uncomfortable, painful and risky. Many people interpret change as taking away something that they know and is therefore secure, rather than seeing the possibility that what they are doing or believing is no longer working in their best interests or helping them to grow. For this reason, many people resist change. When I initially made the decision to step away from my familiar life, and change my focus and direction, it was a scary choice. When we feel we have experienced too much pain, it’s often the powerful catalyst that drives us toward change. It can feel particularly intense when we are confronted with a significant life change that gives us reason to re-check our values and what is important in our life. For many people, the thought of change can be frightening, challenging and unsettling. However, we have a choice as to how we approach change. We can embrace it with fear and trepidation, or we can embrace change with a sense of excitement, adventure and wonder.
It’s the human condition to want to avoid what we perceive as uncomfortable, painful and risky. Many people interpret change as taking away something that they know and is therefore secure, rather than seeing the possibility that what they are doing or believing is no longer working in their best interests or helping them to grow. For this reason, many people resist change. When I initially made the decision to step away from my familiar life, and change my focus and direction, it was a scary choice. When we feel we have experienced too much pain, it’s often the powerful catalyst that drives us toward change. For me, the emotional pain level had reached a point where I desperately wanted and needed to take action, to do something, anything, to change the path I was travelling. I was emotionally and physically drained, tired of feeling disconnected, and not moving in any direction that was lighting me up on the inside. I wasn’t able to articulate how I felt, nor did I have clarity on what it all meant. I was drifting from my soul-path. I was ready to embrace the way forward, even if it meant accepting my fear so that I could transform myself and my life. It was a significant moment when I was able to acknowledge my uniqueness and my value. I was finding my way back towards love for myself. Change is not possible unless we are willing to think, believe and do things differently. For many years I had I wrestled with the idea of making a radical change, which meant leaving my marriage. There was a lot at stake, and I was desperately worried about the impact on my children and family. I knew I would face rejection, anger, emotional pain, and my own fear of how I was going to survive. I was sad at the idea of loss in my marriage, disappointed in myself at how my life was not working the way I had hoped. I was scared about my future on so many levels. Yet I was also scared about what would happen to me if I stayed the same and did nothing. I knew that I wanted to be really happy at a soul level, and to feel emotionally, physically and spiritually fulfilled. For this to happen I needed to explore my soul-calling to live more deeply and more authentically. If I did not, then I would never be a true example of what I believe, which is to do what I love and live to my true potential. I sensed the moment of personal change in my life was approaching. I knew I needed to step away and have time to think about what I wanted and needed in my life. At this stage I had no idea of what lay ahead for me, only that I was stepping into the unknown, full of fear and with a small measure of courage at the same time. My decision to follow my own path morphed into a period that became my dark night of the soul, a time of deep introspection and self-examination that lasted several years and became a new level of my soul’s deeper transformation. During the first several months my nights felt lonely and I longed for the comfort of human company during the daylight hours. There were many times I felt completely overwhelmed. My mind taunted me with more fearful and anxious-ridden thoughts about whether I had done the right thing and I questioned myself about how I was going to survive. I had never felt like this before. I had moved away from my home, my family, my financial security, and everything that I knew. I felt vulnerable, scared and numb at the same time. After a while I began to feel accustomed to my fears, and this slowly changed to feeling solace and hope in the idea of new beginnings. I had a few dear friends who were there to support me and provide the comfort, security, and reassurance I needed. I was relieved when I finally made the decision to focus on my own soul-path for a while. I think for a long time I was in a state of shock after I moved away. I was doing my best to keep my head up, because I was so frightened of succumbing to depression. Eventually I found my comfort zone in my new environment. It was the first time in my life that I needed to think about how I was going to take care of myself. For a grown woman this may sound a little ridiculous, as I had spent all of my life taking care of everyone else. I knew from a mental and practical perspective how to take care of my needs, but I never stopped to appreciate that my heart needed taking care of too. In this new space and new life there were aspects of me that I had not yet explored. I felt alive and yet at the same time I felt vulnerable. My heart was in a great deal of pain and I knew I needed comfort and self-compassion. I knew I needed to ensure I was physically and mentally healthy. I have witnessed what depression does to the soul, and how a stagnant life can negatively influence an individual’s emotional and spiritual well-being. Once you travel down this spiral, it is so hard to come back up again. When it comes to feeling healthy in my body, I have always loved walking and being outside. I realised that to manage my emotions it is important to move my body and get physical. It’s also very helpful to be in nature where the energy is clear and grounding. In periods of stress or depression our body produces more stress-hormone (cortisol). When we move the body and increase our physical activity it helps to reduce the effects of cortisol and the build-up of toxins. A lack of movement creates dullness and lethargy, exacerbating the feelings of depression, confusion and a lack of motivation. My fear of being enveloped by negativity, feelings of hopelessness and low energy were big motivators to get me up in the morning and out of bed. Many people marvelled at my determination and dedication to my early morning walks along the beach. I have always been drawn to nature and to the sea, and now it was a place of healing for me. The best motivator for my new regime was not avoiding what I was afraid of, it was looking forward to what I really loved doing. Walks along the beach with the promise of a beautiful sunrise on most days was key to keeping myself emotionally and physically in a better place. The healing energy of the ocean, the new light of the rising sun, the trees, the birdlife, the visiting dogs with their owners; it all meant that I was feeding myself with good energy and I had a fresh start every day. It renewed me, inspired me, healed me and enabled me to reconnect with my Soul. Slowly I was transforming with small changes in my life, and over time I noticed healing taking place in my body and in my heart. I had a strong desire to help myself, to learn whatever I could to make a new life and grow stronger in love for myself. I increased my reading on personal development and spirituality and I learned more about improving my health with the support of my health-conscious friends. I focused on making better choices around my thinking, my sleeping habits, managing my energy, and being more careful with my choices for what I was eating and drinking. Connection with my friends was also vitally important. It helped me to feel I belonged, and that I was not alone. I also began a program of self-discovery through spiritual development classes. Step by step, my new choices became food for my soul’s growth. I have always had a thirst for learning, communicating and connecting with people. In the past I enjoyed studying psychology, counselling, pastoral ministry, and life coaching. During those years of study I learned better ways to think, how to manage my beliefs, how to connect my body with my heart and mind, and the importance of taking care of my wellbeing. However, there was little direction on how to develop my intuition so that I could hear, notice and sense the spiritual Divine guidance that is available to us all. I was still relatively naïve about my psychic abilities and my intuitive awareness was still in its sleepy infancy. Most of what I had been taught was to relate to the Divine through someone or something else. As my knowledge and spiritual awareness grew, I began to notice more of the contrasts in my life, the difference between negative self-defeating behaviour and inspired (spirit-in-action) living. I was developing my curiosity, my level of conscious awareness, and my ability to sense on a deeper level. I was slowly being prepared for a personal and spiritual transformation in my mid-life, which brought about significant change on an unchartered path toward greater love. Rebecca Gabrielle (Balboa Press, 2019) https://www.thepowerofsoulloving.com/
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October 2024
AuthorRebecca Gabrielle, author of "The Power of Soul Loving - a spiritual guide to love and freedom". Rebecca Gabrielle has been able to see the magnificence and truth of people’s souls from an early age. With a background in psychology, counselling, life-coaching, spiritual development, and energy healing, Rebecca has fine-tuned her psychic and intuitive skills to connect with the Divine to receive and deliver messages of unconditional love. Through her writing, soul-coaching and card readings she assists people to reconnect with their true self so they can experience clarity, peace of mind, joy and passion for doing what they love. |